Reviews by Bananaman:

Mikkeller is a fantastic brewery and this one sure makes a great christmas gift. Thanks goes out to my friend David for sharingt this one!

The beer pours a red-black color with a huge beige/brown head. The bottle is kind of boring though it fills it's function with the "fra - til" thing.

The smell is full of spices, lots of star anise, clove and some cinnamon. Notes of rosted malts and some smoke too.

Taste is refreshingly spicy with those earlies mentioned notes of star anise, clove and cinnamon. Some rosted malts and smokes too. There are also notes of chocolate. The mouthfeel is really filling and the beer is perhaps a bit easy to drink considering the high ABV. (678 characters)

More User Reviews:

Pours black with a head that forms slowly as the bubbles swim through the pitch-like body. Head is dark tan and frothy/creamy. Lots of lacing, very fine carbonation.

The aromas detectable from the first pour are the strongest point of this brew. Sweet forest berries, maybe some wood, maybe both berries and woodchips were added. Roasty and enticing. Complex aromas that I can't deconstruct because I haven't reviewed for some time. Impressive though.

The taste isn't as heavyweight as the smell but still rewardingly rich. Tart hop bitterness under the tongue makes me gleek. Creaminess on the back of tongue and a nice sourness on the palate, familiar but I can't quite identify that flavour. Maybe just sweet malt.

Mouthfeel is a letdown - it may just be this bottle but the carbonation is too weak. More effervescence could of course make this brew a mess of mineral water flavours but a little more would improve the mouthfeel.

Only have one of these 750mL bottles as it's imported and a special occasion but I'd be keen to have another one, if only to compare the carbonation. Rich but drinkable, and intoxicatingly sweet and dark aromas. Not excessively alcoholic or warming or heavy, which is good. Recommended, but definitely a winter brew. (1,341 characters)

The beer pours a dark brown color with a large tan head. The aroma is roasted malt, dark cherries, chocolate and molasses. Fairly complex with all of the elements blending nicely.

The flavor is burnt and roasted malt, coffee, chocolate and dark fruit. The flavor is much roastier than the aroma, which works out nicely. The dark fruit is hidden in the background behind the malt. The heavily roasted malt also provides some bitterness. I don't get much spicing in the flavor, but that may be because the malt is so prominent.

Medium to full mouthfeel and high, prickly carbonation. The only thing I would change about the beer is to dial down the carbonation a little bit.

Pours a very dark black with a small light brown head that fades fast. Nose has a light booziness, with some hoppiness ad holiday spices behind it.

Taste is fairly boozy, but not over the top. A bit smoky reminds me of bacon a bit. Mouthfeel is a bit light and watery for a baltic porter, but it's not too bad. It's a decent holiday beer but the worst of the four I had this christmas day. (455 characters)

One question is what is it. Pours a thick dark brown coffee-looking chocolate imperial stout. Aroma of coffee. Some head and lines of lace. Taste is of good coffee, a bit of expresso, chocolate, barley.Initial bitterness that is licorice and mollasses sweetened down. Another off-the-scale by Mikkeller. (303 characters)

On-tap at Blue Palms Brewhouse in Hollywood. Served in a generic wide-mouth tulip.

Pours a dark chocolate brown with two thick fingers of fallow cream. Multiple messy layers of lacing paint the sides and recede slowly like a broken etch-a-sketch. Glassy legs.

Very unusual ester-heavy aroma with burnt banana, dates, and agave. Roast malt, brown sugar, and a touch of citrus round out the nose.

Almost savory (though not vegetal) palate-entry with grape-skin and malt. Cardamom, raisins, allspice, and brown sugar flavors emerge next. The finish is long and sweet yet tart. A strange fruity-mix. I suspect the strain of yeast and/or mix of hops they are using is confusing my taste-buds as this defies my expectations of the style.

Medium-bodied, slightly sticky, and moderately carbonated.

Quite unique, and worth trying if only for its quiet novelty. (857 characters)

A- Corked and caged 750ml bottle poured into a tulip glass. Pours a dark black color with a very nice tan colored head that possesses very good retention and lacing qualities.

S- The aroma is dark and roasted malts with hints of cocoa. The big roasty aroma is very good and makes me really anxious to try the taste.

T- The taste like the aroma is dark and roasty with a nice creaminess to it as well. The finish is very moderately hopped, but it does feature a good amount of roasted bitterness to help balance out this brew. Very tasty stuff.

M- the mouthfeel is medium bodied with moderate amount of carbonation and a good texture.

D- Mikkeller did a great job with this beer, it is a very enjoyable brew that is highly recommended. (833 characters)

pours jet black with a nice cocoa and cream head, about a 1/2 inch or so.

very rich, light cherry and roasted malt.

again, a bit rich and a nice lingering sweet dark cherry flavor that just barely nudges over the roasted malts. a slight charcoal flavor mixed in here and there. no booze what so ever.

very thick, a bit like syrup without being too much. nice light carbonation. near perfect.

this was a great baltic porter, a nudge off what most taste like but a great example. i shared this and everyone loved it. i will for sure buy another bottle and see what a year can do. (584 characters)

On tap at Toronado SF, listed as "To From," but it beats me whether this is the correct listing. Don't think it was "To From" since that was retired awhile ago. Mikkeller should differentiate between this beer and the other similar beers better.

750, into the Gran Marnier snifter.Near black pour, did not look that black pouring out, but it is pretty solid. About 2 fingers of tan head. Lowers to just under a finger and really sticks around.

Twigs and juniper are the first things that hit in the aroma. Some corriander, roast malt, dark chocolate. May be just a bit too herbal for me.

Taste is very malty, some roast. Whole bunch of cocoa. There is some nutmeg and a mild hop spiciness, but finishes strong with dry roast and cocoa that lingers.

Man is this smooth. I'm guessing the oats help this out. Creamy, coating, not quite full bodied. Nice standard baltic warming sensation, but the alcohol is no where present in the mouth. Have no problem drinking the whole 750.

Glad I finally got to try this one, had a bottle that broke on a flight home(5 others made it, go figure) about 4 months ago and just located another.

A bit pricey, but I think it's worth if for a Baltic fan. (944 characters)

Bottle: Poured a pitch-black color porter with a large off-white head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of chocolate malt is dominating with light spices also noticeable. Taste is dominated by creamy 60% cacao chocolate with a light spicy finish though I didn't find as much spices as per beer description. Body has a very nice creamy texture with limited filtration and good carbonation. Very well done and something I would drink more often if it was available in my neighbourhood. (492 characters)

Note after tasting: Try this one out of a snifter or wine glass rather than a pint glass or mug as the style guidelines show. This isn't your typical Baltic Porter as currently (1/3/08) classified on BA, and could just as easily be categorized as a Belgian Strong Dark Ale. The bottle states it's a "Holiday Ale". ---

750ml corked/caged bottle into nonic. The bottled date appears to have been intentionally rubbed off. The last digit, 8, is still intact, and I assume this means 2008.

Pitch black with a thick and dense two and a half finger tan head that starts off as a rough head (think about the tops of a cloud) that slowly settles to a pillowy bubbly cap. A solid wall of lacing is left in its place. Rings of dense lacing are left on the glass as the beer descends.

The roasty malts are well hidden by some clove-like spices and the earthy Belgian yeast aromas. A touch of chocolate is in the background.

The beer starts off more as a Baltic Porter with some roasty coffee flavors and a little bit of chocolate, but it's then quickly met with some sharp phenols and the characteristic fruit flavors that come from the Belgian yeast. The roasted flavors return in the end to finish off the taste. Full bodied. The warming alcohol shows itself more and more as the beer slowly warms.

An interesting beer from Mikkeller that's hard to pigeon-hole. A cross between a dark Porter and some sort of Belgian Ale. Similar in concept to Hoogstraten Poorter and Allagash Black, but in this case it seems the Belgian Ale is the dominant style compared to the other two. Recommended. (1,586 characters)

To finish the night off, Raul will finish the night off.​Thang is creamy, silky, 'good boozy,' and with all that kind of stuff that a real cowboy (like Raul) would love. I mean, Raul is feeling it like menudo while hungover. The right amount of chocolate and bourbon...​Just get it.​Yep! (299 characters)

Mikkeller continues to surprise. Pours black with a huge head that consumes 2/3's of the glass. Lacing sticks, and retains. Mint chocolate on the nose. Crisp and malty on the tongue. Sweet and creamy. Very nice as it warms. Pretty hoppy for the style. Malt lingers well after the drink. Relatively low ABV means you can enjoy plenty of these if you have the opportunity. I don't know how he does it, but Mikkeller seems to get it right every time. (447 characters)